


Original Works

by floweroffrostedtime



Category: Original Work
Genre: Multi, Original Character - Freeform, Original Characters - Freeform, Original work - Freeform, original - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-16
Updated: 2019-01-16
Packaged: 2019-10-11 01:52:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17437643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/floweroffrostedtime/pseuds/floweroffrostedtime
Summary: A collection of my original short stories.





	Original Works

**Author's Note:**

> This first story is based on a prompt my friend gave me; “A necromancer decides he wants to see what happens if he practices his craft on death herself”.
> 
> It's not the best thing I've ever written, but I think it's okay.

He had come face to face with death on the day that he thought was going fine - Billy Albert Robertson later swore that he had been having the most normal, absence of unusual, perfectly mundane day of his life; and it all started with an alarm clock and ended with death. 

\----

Beep. Beep. Beep.

The alarm rang in his ears, and the teenager desperately buried his face deeper into his pillow, thrusting his arm into the ice cold of outside-the-cover, trying to press “sleep”, or cover the speaker, or even toss the alarm across the room to break it. Alas, none of those things came, because Billy could not find the annoying device that was ruining his chance for five more minutes of sleep.

Slowly looking up from his soft, warm, pillow, and still cocooned within a thick quilt, Billy blinked away the blurriness of his eyes and struggled to find his missing alarm clock.

As soon as he did spot said item, he furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, wondering what the hell was going on - “I didn’t put my alarm clock all the way across the room…” But Billy ignored these thoughts and slipped out of his bed with a shiver, taking only one step onto the carpeted floor before he regretted ever leaving the bed.

A cold hand wrapped around his ankle, and still clad in his quilt, Billy fell to the floor with a girlish shriek. Kicking wildly, Billy managed to prop himself up against his wall, breathing heavily as he searched for the source of the cold hand; finally, his eyes locked on the two little girls under his bed, in which his fear turned to annoyance.

“Diamond! Jade!” The twin sisters crawled out from under his bed, still giggling despite their older brother’s scolding tone. Diamond at least looked a little ashamed, but still didn’t lose her grin.

Billy tried to muster up some dignity as he stood up, putting on his best scolding voice. “You shouldn’t have scared me like that. I could’ve kicked you on accident or fallen and hurt myself. Now, why were you under my bed?”

“Mama said to make sure you woke up for the first day of school.”

“And who moved the alarm clock?”

“Jade.”

“Who decided to hide under the bed?”

“Diamond.”

The teenager sighed, dropping his quilts. “Alright, I’m not mad. Now give me a hug and go get ready for the first day of third grade.” After the two had given their quick embraces and then ran back to their room, Billy gracefully stumbled over to his closet, and started sorting through his clothes.

“Now what’s a first day of school outfit that Ma would approve of…?”

\---

After a painstaking five minutes, Billy finally came down the stairs in some jeans and a Nike t-shirt, his curly hair not touched from when he woke up. His little sisters were already halfway through breakfast, and helping each other put their hair into ponytails. Billy’s mom turned around, her makeup already done and her work outfit on. 

“Are you heading to the diner early?” Billy asked, gesturing to the “Robertson Diner” shirt she had on. She handed him a plate of eggs and toast, glancing at the bacon before towards him. 

“Diner is opening earlier today, so I’m going to have to leave you to take the girls to the school.” Billy had taken a bite of toast, and was unable to answer, and so he just nodded. The elementary school was right next to the high school anyway, so it wasn’t too big of a deal. “What about Nana? She usually stops by.”

“Nana is busy at her shop. People have been asking more and more to connect with spirits, and she can't stop by today.”

“Oh. Okay.” Billy made his way through breakfast, as he texted his friends or broke up a fight between Jade and Diamond every few seconds. Finally, he managed to finish, and washed his dish off in the sink. 

He grabbed his backpack and turned around, his sisters’ backpacks in hand, and found his mom facing him, hands on hips.

“Hun, you're forgetting something.”

“Uh…” Oh. Right. “Be polite to my teachers, do my work, walk home quickly, make sure the babysitter is here for Jade and Dia before I leave for a friend's house, be home before dark, and if I'm not able to, call you and make sure you know where I am.”

His mom smiled, and so Billy turned to leave, before he was stopped by her sing song voice.

“You forgot something~!”

“Huh? Oh.” Billy turned around and kissed his mom's cheek, said goodbye, and headed out the door with his sisters in tow.

\---

Having dropped his sisters off at their school with clear instructions to meet him at the office at 4:00 PM, Billy dragged himself to the dreaded building; high school.

But thankfully, it wasn’t all bad.

“Hey! Billy!” His friends raced over, bumping into him with enough force to make him stumble. 

“Wyatt! Lucas! Alexa?” 

Alexa glanced up, pushing her silver hair behind her ear. “Yeah, it’s me. Like my new hair?”

“Yeah! Don’t let Diamond see you with it, she’ll want to match.” 

The four of them walked towards the school together, interrupting each other with stories of their summer and adventures. Billy talked about his dad sending letters from where he was deployed, Wyatt excitedly recounted his month long theater summer camp, Lucas showed pictures of Hawaii, and Alexa blushed about the cute girl she had met at her horse camp. By the time the ten minute warning bell had rung, Billy felt wide awake, and excited for the first day of school.

“Billy! Billy, I need your help-” Billy glanced up from his friends to see Emily, a popular girl with light gold hair, who he had spoken to only a few times before. Once, to ask for a pencil, and again, to ask about a charity fundraiser her parents were running; she was fairly nice, but he wasn’t sure what she would want to talk to him for.

“Oh, hi Emily. What’s up?”

Once she got closer, he could see that she’d been crying, making him frown. They might not be friends, but Billy didn’t like seeing anyone cry. “Hey, are you okay?”

“It’s- it’s my grandma. She died l-last night and I had my soccer game and I never got to say goodbye, and, and-”

 

Billy pulled her into his arms without hesitation, feeling her tears stain his shirt. With a quiet hiccup, she stepped back. “Th-thank you. I needed that.”

By this time, Billy already had an idea of what she wanted.

“Has she been buried?”

Emily shook her head no, taking a hankerchief from one of her friends, catching her breath and composing herself. “No. I know where she’s at right now.”

Billy hesitated, glancing around to make sure no teachers were nearby. Everyone in the town knew about his family, but he still didn’t want them to overhear.

“I don’t know Emily, it’s difficult for me to bring them back for long, and I can only bring back her body or spirit…”

“Please, Billy, I’ll pay you if you need, I just have to say goodbye.”

He held up a hand, shaking his head.

“No. You don’t have to pay me. My grandma’s been busy lately with her shop, but I can talk to her to help me...You’ll only have five minutes, though. Are you sure you don’t just want her ghost? Her full spirit has probably already moved on, but I can bring back a little bit of it.”

 

Emily shook her head, a small, thankful smile on her face. “I really need all of her back, Billy. Please.”

Billy sighed, but nodded, already pulling out his phone to text his grandma. “I can bring her back this weekend.”

He stumbled back slightly as Emily gave him a tight hug, her tears running once more, but thankfully, now happy ones. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

After a few more assurances and thank yous, Emily and her friends turned to leave, but Billy decided to do one last thing for her; “Emily?”

The teenager turned around, looking towards him. “Yes?”

Billy pulled a dead flower from his pocket, his palms glowing gold as he brought it back to life, it’s purple and gold colors suddenly vibrant.

“Here.”

\---

It was two minutes before first bell when he got pulled into the closet. The dinky, flickering lightbulb above him gave only lightning-flash glimpses of the pale girl who had pulled him in there, and he was unsure of how to respond.

“At least take me on a date first, before you go pulling me into a closet.”

 

He felt her jerk back slightly, and could almost feel her mind reeling. “That’s not- Damn it! Stupid body…”

Stupid body…? He had a suspicion of what this might be. 

“Um, if you’re one of those spirits from beyond that are coming to warn me of danger, you should really be talking to my Nana, not me.”

“No, I’m not a prophetic spirit-” She seemed slightly shocked, but continued on, “I just, um, areyouanecromancer?”

“Come again?”

 

“Are you a necromancer.”

 

“Yep.”

She was quiet once more. “I did not expect you to be so willing to answer that.”

“Everyone already knows. It’s kind of just a family thing. My grandma is a necromancer, my dad could sometimes see and talk to spirits, and my little sisters seem to be pretty normal, but you never know. So, uh, are you new here?”

The girl went quiet.

“No. Just lonely.”

And before he could ask more, she was gone.

\---

It was Sunday, 1AM, and Billy was exhausted from bringing back Emily’s grandmother. His stomach ached, he almost fell asleep at the wheel on the way to the store, and he felt like he was going to either throw up or have his stomach eat itself from the inside out. 

“Chips, chips, chips...oooh, chooclate…” He muttered to himself as he strolled through the aisle, armed with a few dollars from his grandma and forty dollars that Emily refused to let him leave without - ‘It’s barely anything compared to the favor you’ve done for me tonight, but I hope it’s enough.’

He’d taken it after a few minutes of insisting, and sent her on her way.

Billy reached the end of the aisle, arms full of food and barely able to see over it. Marching confidently towards the ice cream freezers, Billy was not expecting to trip and release all his preciously collected food. “Crap,” He murmured, trying to collect all of the items, only to reach and grab for a chocolate bar to find a pale hand already there.

He looked up to see the blue eyes of a pale girl, her black hair covering part of her face. “Um, here,” She said, quietly. Billy paused as he took the bar, recognizing the voice. Wait…

“You pulled me into the closet!”

She immediately covered her face, her voice muffling. “I’m sorry! I just saw you with the flower and that pretty girl and I got curious and had to ask and you seem cool and-”

“No, no, I’m sorry!” Billy panicked, as he did not like upsetting people. He liked making people happy. “Seriously, it’s fine, do you like, want some chips or something? I can buy you some chips. Please don’t feel bad.”

He saw a glimmer of blue peeking through her hands. 

“...Do they have barbeque?”

\---

An hour later, Billy had driven into the countryside, watching the stars glimmer. It felt like he could feel the spirits of the sky reaching out to him, aching to whisper the secrets of the universe.

“She’s the tear in my heart, I’m alive. She’s the tear in my heart, I’m on fi…”

“So what’s this band called? Twenty One Pilots?”

Billy glanced over at Ana, who had gone through her chips on the way here. He had tiredly invited her to go watch the stars with him, mostly on a whim. It was the middle of the night, he was tired, it was a convenience store, and anything seemed possible.

She said yes.

“Yeah. One of my favorite bands.”

 

“I like them.”

The song faded into silence, and the phone turned off, leaving them to just sit without sound and watch the stars.

“Did you move here?” Billy whispered, not wanting to disturb the peace.

“Not exactly,” Ana answered.

“Oh, are you visiting family?”

“No…”

“Are you staying with someone?”

“No.”

“...Do you have family or friends here?”

“Um…”

He was quiet for a moment.

“Do you have family?”

Billy looked towards her, and she gave a quiet shake of her head.

“You have a friend now.”

He could hear a small laugh coming from her, and he couldn’t help but smile. “And who would that be?”

 

“Me.”

\---

Over the next few months, Billy found that Ana was way too interesting for his own good. He’d hang out with her every so often at school, but those minutes turned to hours, hours turned to days, and soon enough, she was over at his house almost every day and even started going to church with them on Sundays.

And his family absolutely adored her.

“Do my makeup, Ana!” Jade insisted, plopping down on the chair. Their big child makeup box was open, filled with sparkly, vibrant eyeshadows and sticky lipsticks that their mom almost definitely regretted getting them, but the twins loved it so much that it was worth it.

“Okay, okay. Billy, can you get the…” Ana pretended to deeply think about her color choices, studying Jade carefully, “...blue colored makeup.”

He shrugged, setting his Barbie and horse doll down for a second, promising Diamond he’d be back in just a moment. As he set down the pile of blue makeup, his mom popped in. 

“Is pizza alright for dinner tonight!”

There was a chorus of “yes”, especially from Billy’s Nana. 

“Well, that’s good. Ana, will you be staying the night?”

“If that’s okay, Mrs. Robertson.”

Billy’s mom rolled her eyes. “Come on Ana, I’ve told you a million times. You don’t have to call me that.”

But Ana merely shrugged with her smile, and went back to doing Jade’s makeup. A few minutes passed before Nana whispered in Billy’s ear, “You better keep that one. She’s a good girl.”

\---

A year passed. Ana had a collection of clothes at Billy’s house for spontaneous sleepovers.

\---

Ana was over for Christmases, for birthdays, for church celebrations. They long since stopped asking about her family.

\---

Billy started to realize that his family adored Ana. A lot. 

\---

It was winter, two years after he and Ana met. It was a rare day that Ana wasn’t over, and since she wasn’t answering any texts, Billy wasn’t sure where she was.  
He didn’t want to disturb her, but he was a little worried - he had grown so used to her being around so often, that he forgot what it was like without her. His other friends were busy Christmas shopping, although they had invited Billy and Ana along - Ana had integrated into their friend group quickly, and nobody was sure where she was.

“Maybe I just need to go on a walk…Mom, I’m going out for an hour!” Billy grabbed his coat and began to head towards the door, but stopped at the sound of her yell.

“Be home before dark!”

“It’s always dark. It’s winter time.”

And then he headed out, and after a moment of consideration, headed towards the park near his house. 

‘I hope Ana’s okay. She never mentions family or her house and she almost always answers her phone within five minutes. Maybe she needed a break? We’ve been hanging out since we were sophomores...Yeah, she probably just needs a break.’

Billy sat down on a bench, feeling unreasonably tired. He just wanted to take a nap, which he knew he shouldn't do in the freezing cold, but couldn't help close his eyes for a moment.

Glimpses of bodies and blood shot through his mind as he closed his eyes, and the face of a screaming Ana was what made his eyes open, palms glowing and tingling. 

‘Save me!’ She still screamed in his mind, and Billy blinked, and realized something was happening.

A shuffling figure, missing a leg, was walking away from him. Beside the bench was hole.

...It took him a minute to connect the dots.

“No, no, no, come back, you stupid zombie!” He jumped up and began to chase after the creature, but it did not respond, only keep shuffling. Why didn't it respond?

He grabbed onto it's arm and shouted again. “BACK! BACK!”

But the zombie only looked at him, and whispered, “Save Ana.”

Billy did what he thought might work; he called for the bodies below to drag the zombie down and put it down to rest. The zombie kicked and punched and tried to unearth itself, but it was dragged under.

Billy stared at his hands.

He had brought up a zombie. A husk without a soul, and gave it a task, which he was sure it would have done without care for who was in the way.

He had raised a zombie, without realizing it, gave it a task without realizing it, and was unable to control it afterward. 

Billy suddenly felt very small, and insignificant; if he had such little control over his necromancy, was it really a good idea to have them? We're they a blessing, or a curse?

He did not know, but he began to lean towards curse.

\---

It was a week after the zombie incident, and Ana had resumed her position as by his side everyday. He didn't ask where she'd gone. She didn't ask what had him down. 

But it was Sunday, and they walked by his church, and Billy didn't glance at the dead flowers that lined the side of it. He didn't try to bring them back to life as he always did, he didn't even glance at them. He only tightened his fists in his pockets and ignored them.

Ana glanced at him, saw his angry frown, and bumped into him gently.

“What?” Billy asked angrily, glancing down at Ana, who was a foot shorter than him.

“Race you to the coffee shop.”

Ana took off running, and glanced back to see Billy's look of surprise turn into light-hearted competitiveness.

But the small events didn't stop - Ana had noticed that Billy had stopped using his powers. He gently told kids at school that he couldn't bring back their grandparent, or parent, or sibling or pet, not even just their ghost.

Gentle ‘no’s turned harsh, until he just shrugged kids off, shoved them away, and ignored them. 

Her suspicions about him not using his powers proved true when he yelled at his little sister for just asking the bring her flower back to life.

“Billy?” Diamond has asked, peeking into the room. “Can you help me?”

Billy sighed, sitting up from his bed, where Ana and him had been doing homework. “Sure, what is it?”

“Could you bring my plant back? I forgot to water it for a day and it died, and it was a gift from Jade-”

“No.”

“Oh- why?”

“Because I said no.”

Ana could see Diamond getting worked up, and while Billy had a right to say no, it was unlike him to say no to such a simple task, and especially one for his sister.

“But you always do it! Please Billy?”

“I SAID NO!” He finally exploded. Diamond took one look at him and dropped her plant in shock, before bursting into tears, backing out of the room.

“Billy!” Ana exclaimed, slipping out of the bed, carefully collecting the pieces of the pot that held Diamond’s plant. She set it on his desk, before turning to face him. “What the hell was that?”

Billy didn’t look at her, staring at his hands, shaking with anger. “I’m tired of people asking for this or for that. People look at me and they see a tool, a communicator, somebody with black magic. I’m tired of not being seen as a person.”

Ana knew he was right, knew he was justified, and yet buried emotions rose up from within her. “But your magic can help people! You can bring back what they’ve lost!”

“It’s a curse.”

“It’s a blessing.”

Billy glared at her, sitting up. “I don’t have control of my powers. I can make plants pretty again, I can let people say goodbye, but I have no control. What happens when I lose control? What happens if I talk to the wrong spirit and get people hurt? What happens when I start hurting instead of helping?”

 

“But you WON’T!” Ana insisted, her voice rising with anger. “You have a grandma who’s experienced, you have positive influences who can keep you from making bad decisions, you have time to get control over your powers!” 

His voice broke because he was tired, and he was angry, and he just wanted to pretend he was normal. “My powers shouldn’t exist! I bring back people who should stay dead! I disturb the natural order! I’m a curse for giving people too much hope, and my powers are a curse too!”

“Death causes grief, and depression, and one death can cause even more! How is that a curse? You can help people!”

“Shut up, Ana! You don’t understand any of this!”

Ana responded with a scream that sounded suspiciously full of tears, angrily stomping towards the closet. She ripped open the door and began shoving her clothes into a bag.

While Billy was still angry and upset, he felt bad about making Ana angry as well. He tried to turn away, tried to ignore her, but felt himself soften, tired but not so angry, and glanced back towards her.

“Where are you going?”

Ana turned to him, tears beginning to run down her cheeks. Billy felt really bad now, slipping out of his bed. She turned her back to him, not looking at him. “Home.”

“Home? Ana, I’ve known you for two years, and you’ve never mentioned a home, or a family, or-”

She turned around, angry and crying and rage showing in her eyes. “WELL SOME OF US AREN’T LUCKY ENOUGH TO HAVE THOSE THINGS! I THOUGHT I HAD A FAMILY HERE, AND A HOME HERE, BUT YOU SEEM TO SAY OTHERWISE!”

Shocked, Billy stumbled back, and by the time he regained control of his voice, she was gone.

Jade looked in. “Is Ana okay?”

He could only shake his head, and without a thought, grabbed his phone and ran after her.

\---

It was dark outside and cold, but Billy couldn’t feel it against his skin, searching for Ana in the darkness.

There.

He raised towards her, mouth opening to yell for her to wait, knowing he should apologize. A biting part of him thought that he was still right - but he shouldn’t have yelled at her the way he did. His mom raised him to talk about his feelings calmly, and he took all of them out on Ana.

But something stopped him.

Ana stopped, and he could clearly see her face - she breathed, but her breath did not fog, and slowly, she brighter and brighter. 

He watched as Ana turned into a spirit.

For a second, he couldn’t move. But something spurred him on, and he followed her in a daze as she zoomed away, and he broke into a run.

A couple walking along the snowy sidewalk let him pass, not seeming to see Ana - he glanced at them and then at Ana, going even faster to make sure he caught up. Only he seemed to be able to see her, it seemed.

When it finally seemed as if his lungs might give out, she stopped, floating into a nearby house. 

Well, he couldn’t do that, so he did the next best thing; I call upon a wandering spirit to aid me.

A spirit floated towards him, materializing from seemingly nowhere, and he whispered his intentions.

He hated doing it, not only because of privacy but because it also involved minor possession - the spirit soaked into his eyeballs, and after a few blinks, he could see what the spirit saw. 

The spirit floated up, into the building, and Billy’s eyes widened as he saw Ana.

Ana floated above the body of an old woman, her eyes closed, her hands glowing black. She whispered something and suddenly the old woman’s spirit, full and bright, came from the body, looking at Ana, at peace.

Ana smiled and told the old woman something, and although he couldn’t hear it, Billy knew what she was saying.

Come, I will protect you on the journey to the beyond. Are you scared?

No.

Good. You were loved, and now it’s time for you to be at rest.

From her back came a scythe, and Ana lead the old woman towards a portal to go across the Deadlands, and to whatever afterlife the woman chose.

Grim Reaper, La Catrina, Thanatos...All different names for one being.

Death.

Ana just told that woman Death’s Promise. Ana just lead that woman to bring her to the afterlife.

There’s no way Ana is Death.

...oh my God I’m best friends with Death.

Billy didn’t know how long he sat there, staring into space, the spirit that had come to his aid long since gone back to wherever they came from. It wasn’t until he heard quiet footsteps and a pale hand entered his vision that he realized Ana was back. 

He glanced up, unsure of whether or not to take the hand, but slowly, he slid his hand into hers. Ana grinned, preparing to pull him up, but let out a noise of surprise as Billy pulled her down and into his lap, where he held her tightly.

“...I’m guessing you aren’t mad?”

 

“About our earlier argument? No, I guess not. I mean, I can bring people back to life, and you kinda take them away from life, so I’d say that my comment about you not knowing what my life is like is pretty untrue now…”

Ana laughed, a slightly bitter laugh, reaching up to play with his hair. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier.”

“Oh, no, it’s fine, it’s just that I’m best friends with a supernatural being that I’m surprised isn’t pissed at me for disturbing the natural order.”

At that, Ana paused, slowly climbing from his lap and sitting a few feet away. 

“Ana?” Billy asked quietly. “Did I say something wrong?”

“No, it’s just-” She sighed. “I haven’t been Death for long. And it’s just that, meeting you, I felt like...hey! It’s a necromancer! They’ll understand me! But then you started talking about how your power is a curse, and I started realizing that mine was too. I take people away from the world. I cause pain, and suffering, and...what am I? A monster?”

“No!” Billy protested, and Ana was so surprised by his passion that she turned, looking at him. “No, you aren’t a monster. I saw that look of peace on that woman’s face. You helped her. You’re a protector. Not a monster. But...I feel like I am. Who am I to disturb that peace? To possibly create a gateway for bad things that have been sealed away, to come back into the world? I...I shouldn’t be allowed to do that. This power is horrible.”

“It’s not horrible.” She whispered, scooting forward. “You bring back the spark in the things that have long since burned out.” Her pale fingers lifted his chin, forcing him to look at her through his tear filled eyes. Slowly, Billy let a smile spread, taking her hand. But she slipped it away, curling it in her lap, holding it closely to her. His smile faded as he slid back as well, distance forming between them. 

“Are...you scared of accidentally hurting me?” 

She was scared to glance up at him, he could feel it. He could see her silent shivers and hear her barely noticeable tremors in her voice. “If I don’t control myself, I kill everything I touch. I bring misery, and grief, and cloudy skies to the world. I take away life. I bring death. That’s all I ever am. That’s why I was scared to tell you about being me.”

Ana didn’t look up until she felt Billy’s warm touch against her cold hand, and his gaze kept her enraptured, unable to look away.

“You don’t snuff out their light, their life. You give rest to those whose embers have all but faded. You give a chance for more light to be lit in the world, and for people to finally be at peace.” 

And then Billy leaned in, and Ana swore she saw a blush to mirror her own as he kissed her, and she kissed him back.

\--- 

They dated for a year.

A year filled with college applications, of tests, of Ana meeting more of Billy’s family, of Billy’s father coming back from being deployed, of Ana and Billy talking about their future.

Billy, while more reluctantly, helped bring back more people, more spirits. He helped ghosts move on, helped the living say their goodbyes, and started having more control. 

Ana disappeared, sometimes without warning. But she always came back eventually, tired and haggard, but knew her job had to be done. Billy was always there to greet her with barbeque chips, a lit fire, and some homemade dinner. 

They fought, yes, but it was always resolved quickly. They only grew more close.  
“What’s the Deadlands like?” Billy whispered, the fire dying, Ana snuggled within his arms. 

“It’s cold. Filled with demons and spirits and cold that touches your bones, even if you’re a spirit. Why can’t you bring back both body and spirit, now that you’re stronger?”

Billy took a breath, trying to figure out how to explain it. “My grandma explained it by...Bodies and brains are complicated. Massively so. But in the end, they’re just flesh, and muscle, and bone. Souls...Souls, you can only bring a little bit back. You can have a vague familiarity with someone, and you can bring back a familiarity of their soul. A little bit of it. To bring back someone truly, you have to know them more than you know yourself. You have to love them with your heart of hearts, to have your own soul attached to theirs. You can bring back more of their soul if you’re focused in on it, but I still have trouble focusing on one or the other. I need help bringing both back.”

Ana nodded, her breaths growing slower, and slowly fell into sleep.

Billy felt content.

But neither of them knew how quickly their happiness faded.

\---

Mortal bodies are weak things.

What Ana and Billy didn’t realize is that Ana’s body was mortal, even though she was Death, even though she was technically immortal.

“My essence has infected my body,” She whispered to Billy at her hospital bedside, “I’m dying. In every way possible.”

Ana had made a lot of friends, but only Billy and his family visited her, filling her lonely hours with some happiness. Billy brought flowers, and chocolates, and movies to watch. He skipped school to be with her, to spend every minute he could.

But then the day came that their time ran out.

Ana let out a violent, ripping cough, startling Billy as he looked towards her. “Do you need some water?” He asked, reaching towards the water on her table. But Ana didn’t respond, her breathing growing shallow.

Billy watched in horror, not knowing what to do. His mom was at work, as was his dad, helping her, his grandma was taking care of Jade and Diamond, and BIlly knew how to bring people back from the dead, not save them from it.  
“Ana, stay with me.”

Her heartbeat monitor was decreasing, slowing as Billy pressed a button to call a nurse, and clutched her hand, his own heartbeat increasing. Ana’s eyes were wide and unfocused, and the nurses still weren’t there.

“ANA!”

Her heartbeat was slowing, slowing, slowing. No, not like this, NOT LIKE THIS!

Billy screamed again, less words then it was feeling, his heartbeat thumping in his ears, but not loud enough to drown out the flatlining of the machine.

“No, no, no, no, no…” Billy shook Ana, gently at first, but then a little harder. “Please wake up. Please, please, please.”

His mind was racing and memories of Ana flashed in his mind, busy but also empty, and it took him way too long to realize what to do. His hands already glowing, brighter than they’d ever been.

He pressed his hands to her chest and poured every thought into bringing her back, back to him, back to life.

Billy stared at her body as gloved hands drew him back, stared at her as he was pushed back out of the room, and stared at her until a doctor moved towards her.

“DON’T TOUCH HER!” He screamed, struggling against the nurse. Two larger pairs of hands grabbed onto him, holding him, pulling him out of the room, but he was still fighting. “DON’T TOUCH HER! DON’T TOUCH HER!”

She would live. She had to.

The doctors ignored him.

Filled with adrenaline, Billy ripped away his arms from the guards, desperate to get to her side. “ANA!” He screamed, tears streaming down his face. “ANA!’

He opened his mouth to scream once more, crying, and finally giving up to the doctors. Somebody started dragging him backwards as more people began to come in, but not going near her again, not yet.

Billy could not see, not hear, only focus on his breath and his heartbeat.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Beep.

He looked up, eyes even wider than everyone else. He pushed away the guards, pushed through the doctors, and watched as she slowly rose, her eyes blinking, full of life.

Ana looked towards him, her spark relit, and without a thought, ripped out all of the things stuck in her arms and raced towards him.

Billy didn’t have time to prepare before she launched into his arms, and only realized he wasn’t dreaming when tears continue to run down his face.

“You saved me,” She whispered in his ear as he held her tight. “You saved me.”

Billy couldn’t say anything, only grin even wider, hugging her closer. 

“I love you,” She murmured, her face in his shirt. “I love you. I love you.” 

It took many minutes before he was responsive enough to whisper it back.

“I love you. I love you.”

And they were happy.

**Author's Note:**

> I'd like to expand on Billy and Ana's universe and it's lore, but here's some random stuff that I wanted to include or expand on, but ended up not finding a place to put it:  
> -Billy's Nana/his father's mom came from New Orleans. She comes from a long line of people with supernatural powers, not just in the realm of death and necromancy  
> -The small town they live in originally disliked Billy's family and their powers (as well due to a few people just being racist), but it was soon clear to them that Billy's family only used their powers for good, and helped them say goodbye or see their loved ones again.  
> -Billy's mom and dad opened a diner, and Billy's mom runs it. She usually goes in even earlier ("The diner opens early today" means the actual opening time), but she wanted to see her kids off for their first day back at school.  
> -Billy convinces Ana to go as Thanos for Halloween. He goes as Death  
> -Halloween is a very busy time for both of them.


End file.
